As Iowa finishline nears, Perry compares self to Tebow

At the debate in Sioux City, the Texas governor said he was hoping to stage a late-game comeback — just like the Denver Broncos quarterback who has thrilled fans (and defied critics) with a string of wins after trailing in the fourth quarter.

“You know, there are a lot of people out there — I understand it. There are a lot of folks that said Tim Tebow wasn’t going to be a very good NFL quarterback.

There are people that stood up and said well, he doesn’t have the right throwing mechanisms, or he doesn’t — you know, he is not playing the game right.

You know, he won two national championships, and that looked pretty good. We’re the national champions in job creation back in Texas. But am i ready for the next level? Let me tell you — I hope I am the Tim Tebow of the Iowa caucuses.”

Perry jumped to the head of the pack when he joined the race for the Republican presidential nomination, but his star quickly dimmed as he faltered in the debates.

After his “oops” moment, Perry conceded that he wasn’t a great debater (“If we’re electing a ‘debater-in-chief,’ don’t elect me,” he said in a Fox News interview). But at Thursday’s debate, Perry was sounding much more confident about his debating skills — even challenging President Barack Obama to bring it on.